Nigel Adkins was certainly not himself in the wake of Hull City’s 2-1 defeat at home to Millwall on Tuesday night. All the positivity had vanished after a performance he bluntly called a “disgrace”.

Adkins admitted to being “flabbergasted” and “annoyed” and at 14 different points in a ten-minute press conference he admitted his side had been “nowhere near good enough.”

The criticism was as damning as it was surprising from a usually upbeat figure, but the sharpest words were those aimed directly at his players.

“They were mentally weak,” said Adkins. “We looked like a bag of nerves. Maybe people can’t deal with the relegation scrap we’re in, those pressure situations.”

In other words, City’s head coach felt his team had bottled it. Players had frozen when it really mattered at the KCOM Stadium and found themselves punished by an efficient Millwall side.

Adkins will hope for a reaction when Norwich City arrive to complete a run of four straight home games tomorrow but questioning the fortitude of this group was not without foundation.

Nigel Adkins, Hull City's head coach

The stark reality is that this City side does not react well to adversity. There was a fightback from behind to beat Brentford in Adkins’ first game in charge, as well as points salvaged against Aston Villa, Sunderland and Barnsley, but in 12 of the 16 league games where City have conceded first, it has been the opening step towards a defeat.

Even getting their noses in front has brought no guarantees. On four different occasions (QPR, Sheffield United, Bristol City and Preston) City have seen a lead turned into a defeat this season, while there have also been plenty of moments when conceding has irreversibly changed the course of a contest. Fulham at home, for example, when leaking one soon brought another.

Tuesday’s defeat to Millwall belonged in another category of games, one where City never once looked like winning, but the pattern felt similar.

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Allowing the Lions to open the scoring inside a minute was the cue for an implosion and just as they threatened to regain their footing by the half-hour mark, City conceded again to send themselves into another spin. By the time they rallied late on it was much too late.

“The early goal affected the whole team,” added Adkins. “You’ve got to be able to deal with that.”

City, on paper at least, certainly have the players to do so.

Of the 14 players used against Millwall, five (Ola Aina, Jackson Irvine, Seb Larsson, Kamil Grosicki and Abel Hernandez) will hope their season ends with a trip to the World Cup finals in Russia. Then there was the other current internationals (Allan McGregor, Markus Henriksen and Ondrej Mazuch) and a captain – Michael Dawson – who reached the Champions League quarter-finals seven years ago.

Abel Hernandez of Hull City celebrates after scoring against Millwall

Only Jarrod Bowen, Max Clark and Harry Wilson do not have experience on their side but for the rest there could be no excuses for serving up such a substandard collective effort.

The question Adkins will have mulled over since his outbursts is how to prevent “mental weaknesses” hurting his side again.

Others might make City a stronger proposition, such as Mazuch from the start or a recall to David Meyler, but the suspicion is that this is not a question of individuals.

City have not lost games or squandered winning positions because of any one player.

They are where they are, 20th in the Championship and three points north of trouble, due to collective and consistent failings. Perhaps there are not enough battle-hardened warriors, the likes of Ian Ashbee, Wayne Brown and Dean Windass, to ensure heads stay up but there ought to be enough seasoned veterans – and talent – to avoid nights like Tuesday.

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The only other conclusion left to draw is that this City side is fragile because of all that has gone on over the last 12 months. They are perhaps psychologically damaged, not mentally weak.

Although not many were around to see a golden chance for Premier League survival blown in the closing weeks of last season, plenty have been part of a squad that is too familiar with failure.

Only seven of 35 Championship games have been won this term and each defeat – 16 and counting – has eroded the belief in both the team and one another.

Hull City head coach Nigel Adkins (Image: Focus)

Millwall, the opponents responsible for Adkins’ ire in midweek, have been the polar opposite this season.

Victory in the League One play-offs last May began a winning culture under Neil Harris and they have since shown a determination to keep on building. The Lions are now 19 points better off than City using a squad assembled at a fraction of the cost that City have spent on the players currently at Adkins’ disposal.

Does that mean Millwall are mentally stronger than the Tigers? Probably not, but they do have a squad of players with a significant investment in where the club goes from here.

Although Adkins is keen to bring long-term thinking to the KCOM Stadium, his problems are very much in the short-term. City need to find at least four wins from the 11 games remaining to avoid falling into League One and tomorrow’s visit of Norwich is among the more inviting opportunities left.

Adkins has taken a risk in questioning the resolve of his players but he will hope his comments act as a short, sharp shock. As he said on Tuesday, “time will tell” if City are strong enough to survive.